Last Show Recap

In the first half of the program, host Dave Schrader (email) welcomed author and crime researcher, Diane Fanning, who discussed the terrifying case of Tommy Lynn Sells, a serial killer who made his way across the country for two decades. Open Lines followed in the latter half.

Best selling author, Catherine Lanigan, famous for writing Romancing the Stone and Jewel of the Nile, discussed her latest work which chronicles real tales of divine intervention, encounters with angels, and after-death communications. According to Lanigan, "almost all" of the angelic stories found in her new book came from Coast listeners who wrote to her following her previous appearance on the program. "Every time I think, 'I've heard it all,' I'm wrong," she marveled, "there's always someone out there who writes and says, 'wait till you hear this one' and, boy, it's true."

Lanigan recounted a number of stories where messages, either subtle or overt, were conveyed from people who had passed away. One such tale involved a man whose mother loved to save old pennies. Despondent following her death, the man went to visit her grave and discovered a row of 20 shiny pennies on top of the gravestone. On a personal level, Lanigan shared the story of seeing her sister three months after she had died. During the encounter, Lanigan's sister told her to see a doctor because "your heart is broken." Taking the advice, she went to the doctor and was diagnosed with a heart arrhythmia. "That's the kind of warning that I want people to pay attention to," she said, even if the advice seems comes from a stranger, since it may be an angel in disguise.

"Vanishing angel" stories were another type of supernatural encounter which Lanigan discussed during the evening. She recalled hearing from a woman that was visited at her home by a man asking for food because he was out of work and hungry. The generous woman invited him in, fed him, and briefly chatted with the stranger. As he was leaving, he said "God bless you," and then, Lanigan said, "he got halfway down her front walk and he literally vanished in front of her eyes." Lanigan also told the story of a man who had a heart condition and was saved by his golden retriever which had been trained to detect illness and alert 911. What made the story particularly angelic was that, as a puppy, the dog had two white spots on its back and, as it got older, the white spots grew into the shape of "elongated wings."

Gas Price & Alternative Energy

In the first hour, ecological biologist David Blume talked about rising gas prices and alternative energy. He warned that high gas prices are "coming back in a big way" and that experts foresee a 10 million barrel per day shortfall in oil production by 2015, which, Blume mused, "means a lot more than $5 per gallon" of gas. While gasoline remains a prime focus in America, he noted that in other parts of the world, where cars are less prevalent, there is an big increase in alcohol-based fuels to meet basic energy needs. He also detailed the surprising amount of power that can be derived from cattail plants, which can generate 7,500 gallons of alcohol per acre as opposed to corn, which only creates around 300 gallons.

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